Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to oral questions.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I see no evidence of the active involvement that the Minister speaks of, or to being a voice for the people of the Northwest Territories. That is the very point that the Members are raising today in this House. The co-proponent’s closing comments letter contains no commitment to the preparation of a fully-funded perpetual care plan. Even though site liability supposedly remains with the federal government after devolution, site management will continue forever or until technology is found to eliminate the arsenic. Will the GNWT include the requirement for a fully...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my statement, my questions are today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. As I said in my statement today, I’m amazed at how few of the concerns, so clearly expressed at the hearings, have been reflected in the proponent’s closing letter to the environment board. The commentary persists in the delusion that this is a remediation rather than a stabilization. Its silence on major concerns almost amounts to contempt towards the input of organizations and individuals. This government signed the letter, so I ask, given the passion and details...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The environmental assessment hearings for the Giant Mine Project were held in September. The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board heard testimony on the plan to stabilize the vast stores of arsenic and conduct limited surface remediation. On the first night of public presentations alone, 50 people sat through a 45-minute power outage to share their concerns. Seventeen people spoke, most staying well past 11:00 p.m. People care deeply about the Giant Mine cleanup.

Based on my observations, people spoke of the lack of a funded perpetual care plan, lack of a legally...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have raised my hand a couple of times for the tabling of documents, so I request that we return to item 14, tabling of documents.

---Unanimous consent granted

In most of our communities there is no private market for housing. This is a reality. We can say that if a household makes over a certain amount of money, they should go to the private market to build, but we know that’s not happening. In large part, that’s due to the basic lack of local capacity to construct housing. Again, reality.

Can the Minister say how this lack of local private capacity issue is considered in the equation of setting eligibility levels and whether this is under review?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. I was asking the Minister questions last week regarding the large number of home ownership units remaining vacant because people don’t fit program criteria. At my constituency meeting in Detah, I was told one applicant was turned down because their income exceeded the $77,000 income ceiling for program eligibility. That seems to lack realism. Suppose a household made $80,000, would they be any more able to buy a home in the private market in Detah? Some flexibility obviously is needed here.

The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister knows full well that environmental remediation is a topic of the devolution negotiations. Out of the demolition of the roaster, possibly the most lethally toxic building in all of Canada, the adjoining stack contains 14 tonnes of arsenic trioxide that’s permeated with arsenic asbestos and other hazards. No news release, no media briefing, no explanatory advertising, no community information meetings, no attempts to inform the public and allay concerns for human health and environmental safety in this announcement. They just don’t learn.

When will this...

I mentioned earlier that I’m a big supporter of early childhood development and the social aspects of child care. I think this government should provide universal child care. The Minister is making steps in that direction. Can I assume that the department supports universal child care in the Northwest Territories?

Thanks to the Minister for those remarks. I’m sure he, as well as myself and the public, will be very interested in seeing that work completed.

I have to comment on the Inuvik children’s facility, the Children First Centre. As I believe the House knows, I’m a huge supporter of early childhood development programs and so on. Child care programs are not necessarily child development programs, and that distinction needs to be well understood by our decision-makers.

I have a major disappointment that this decision was made without a policy in place. As the Minister alluded to, that was pointed out...